Administration Denies Allen Loan Amendment

Capitol Notebook

May 26, 2002|By DAVID LERMAN Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON — Republican Sen. George F. Allen did battle last week with an unlikely opponent: Vice President Dick Cheney.

Allen, sensitive to the dramatic loss of textile jobs in rural Southside Virginia, pushed an amendment to a major trade bill aimed at helping workers who lose jobs as a result of international competition.

The amendment would offer low-interest loans for those workers to cover home mortgage payments for up to a year.

"While these hard-working families are trying to find appropriate new employment, they should not have to fear losing their homes," Allen said in urging passage of his so-called Homestead Preservation Act.

On its merits, the relatively modest amendment-- costing about $10 million over five years-- attracted broad support.

But Senate leaders were determined to quash the measure, vowing to fight off any extraneous provisions that could disrupt a bipartisan deal on the underlying trade bill.

The vote on Allen's amendment was a tie: 49 to 49, with two senators absent.

In came Cheney, whose only official duty under the Constitution is to preside over the Senate and break tie votes.

The White House was eager to win approval of the underlying bill, which would give President Bush broad authority to negotiate trade pacts with foreign countries that would not be subject to amendment by Congress. Bush, like most presidents, maintains such authority is vital, arguing that other countries will not negotiate a pact that can later be picked apart by legislators.

To appease Democratic leaders, the White House had already agreed to a multibillion-dollar expansion of aid to workers who lose their jobs because of foreign competition.

The aid would include subsidies for health care and a program to provide wage insurance for older workers.

But the administration was eager to fend off additional aid proposals before the program grew too large. So when senators deadlocked on Allen's amendment, Cheney voted to kill it.

The move marked only the third time Cheney has cast a tie-breaking vote as vice president, and the first time in more than a year.

Allen pronounced himself "very disappointed" by his defeat, but he stopped short of criticizing Cheney.

"The administration was not in favor of my amendment, but they didn't do any lobbying against it," Allen said.

As for his effort to help displaced workers, the senator said, "I'll keep working on it."

SCOTT'S STAND

A vote last week by Rep. Robert C. Scott, D-Newport News, would delight almost any Republican campaign consultant hired to defeat him.

Scott, a vigorous defender of civil liberties, was one of only 11 congressmen in the 435-member House to vote against the Child Sex Crimes Wiretapping Act, aimed at helping law enforcement crack down on those who sexually abuse children.

Supporters from both political parties said the measure is needed to give police the authority to wiretap suspects who lure children into sex through the Internet.

But Scott, in a virtually solo performance on the House floor, argued against the bill, calling it an unnecessary expansion of federal wiretap authority that could ensnare many innocent people. Backers of the bill said a court order would still be necessary before a wiretap could be obtained.

The only vocal support for Scott's position in the House debate came from Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., a liberal congresswoman from Los Angeles. Waters praised Scott for being "courageous enough to talk about what it means to live in a free society."

But when the time came to vote, Waters joined most of her colleagues in supporting the bill, which passed by a margin of 396 to 11.

QUIP OF THE WEEK:

From Sen. Byron L. Dorgan, D-N.D.:

"It's one thing to shoot yourself in the foot. It's another thing to take aim while you do it."

David Lerman can be reached at (202) 824-8224 or by e-mail at dlerman@tribune.com